Fanfic / A Darker Take

A Darker Take is a series of short Let the Right One In fanfics by metoo, originally written in Swedish and then translated to English by the writer.

These stories follow Oskar and Eli in the immediate aftermath of the story's ending, starting with Eli's rescue of Oskar at the swimming pool and continuing through Oskar's transformation into a vampire. As the name suggests, it's a rewrite of the writer's previous series, A New Life, a somewhat lighter take covering the same period, albeit also dark at times.

A Darker Take:

• The Escape: Eli and Oskar's arrival at the train station that will take them from Blackeberg.

• Maggan: Set after Eli mixes her blood with Oskar and immediately after the couple's arrival at Karlstad. The pair meet a kind woman who gives them shelter, but things take a turn for the tragic once Oskar's transformation begins.

• Having Fun: A lighter story about Eli and Oskar just having fun like kids, albeit kids who are vampires.

• Hunger: Eli teaches Oskar to hunt.

• Together: A brief recount of the time immediately after the pool massacre.

A New Life:

• Contains 33 stories total, including a short subseries Playmates.

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Provides examples of:

Tropes in both A Darker Take and A New Life

• The Alcoholic: Maggan/Maria, who habitually drink beer and absinthe, respectively. In Maggan's case, it's hinted that her alcoholism has driven away her family, although it's not as bad as the case of Oskar's father.
• Ambiguous Gender Identity: Still present with Eli, who also uses feminine names when introducing herself.
• Breather Episode: A few of the stories are simply Oskar and Eli being the children they are, no murder or bloodshed involved.
• Children Are Innocent: At times. Oskar and Eli are vampires who kill to survive, but they're still 12-year olds physically and mentally. Potentially averted in Monster depending on the reader, per Word of God.
• Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Still applies to Eli.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: If you consider them evil for what they do, both Oskar and Eli love each other.
• The Farmer and the Viper: The titular woman in Maggan, a kind-hearted woman who takes in Oskar and Eli out of pity, learns the hard way what happens with a newly-turned vampire. The mother in Sweet Kids is also on the receiving end of this, with consequences for her own child.
• Horror Hunger: As Oskar soon discovers, he doesn't always get a say in what he does when he needs blood.
• I Do Not Drink Wine: Eli, of course. Later, as the transformation fully sets in, Oskar finds he can no longer stomach normal food or drink either.
• Mood Whiplash: Between stories, but especially with Maggan and Canoe Vacation, albeit in different ways.
• Neck Snap: Eli's go-to method for killing her victims. She soon teaches Oskar to do it too.
• Must Be Invited: Now applies to Oskar as well. By the time of Canoe Vacation he and Eli have gotten quite good at tricking people into extending the invitation without being asked.
• Our Vampires Are Different: As in the original story, they can grow wings, claws, and sharpen their teeth with some focus and practice.
• Protagonist Journey to Villain: Well, more like Protagonist Journey to Amoral Vampire.
• Sympathetic Murderer: Both children need blood to live, and the nature of the infection means they need to kill when they feed.
• Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Already applies to Eli, and with time applies once more to Oskar as well.
• Vampire Bites Suck: Still the case in the stories. Victims struggle and resist, but Oskar and Eli are an effective hunting pair.
• Viral Transformation: As in the original story. Oskar experiences this firsthand, slower than usual since he shared blood with Eli rather than being bitten. Early on he's able to tolerate sunlight and normal food, but this tolerance disappears as the infection progresses.

A New Life

• Conditioned to Accept Horror: By the time of Canoe Vacation, Sweet Home, and Territory, Oskar thinks nothing of pretending to be an innocent child to trick kind people into letting him and Eli into their homes so the pair can feed on them. He and Eli even treat it as a game. Downplayed in Sweet Home, when it's clear that the couple still has limits, but notable in Territory when they kill eight people in three days, albeit for the purpose of dissuading a more brutal vampire.
• Death of a Child: Very present in Sweet Home, when Eli and Oskar kill a toddler to prevent him from identifying them after they've drank from and killed his mother.
• Friendly Neighborhood Vampire: Played up in several stories, where the two children go out of their way to help others and occasionally feed on a criminal or two when the opportunity arises. Averted in A Darker Take.
• Pædo Hunt: Very strongly hinted to be the case with Mike in A Game in the Park, before Oskar and Eli deal with him.
• Pet the Dog: In Beach Life, the two kids help teach some younger children to fight back against a bully who's been destroying their sandcastles. Applies to a lesser extent in Hosting Guests with Maria, who takes in Eli and Oskar because she paid her several thousand krona, but who still goes out of her way to be kind and feed Oskar, as well as be understanding with Eli, who she thinks is merely allergic to the sun.

A Darker Take

• Darker and Edgier: True in overall tone, as the author reconsidered what the early days would be like for someone like Oskar who found themselves having to learn to deal with severe bloodthirst and requisite murder.
• I Hate You, Vampire Dad: Eli is afraid of this happening with Oskar after he hunts for the first time in Hunger. Fortunately, Oskar's love for Eli and gratefulness for his new life is far greater than any lingering apprehensions about living as an obligate-murderer.